Komikon has always had problems facilitating smooth foot traffic, even in the Bayanihan Center. The exhibitor tables are placed too close together. This year, they tried to alleviate some of this by exiling some of their exhibitors to the smaller conference rooms, namely the Indie Tiangge (Indie Comics) and Komiks Kalye (Artists Alley) sections. And the event still felt like it was at capacity.
I still don't see the point of Komiks Kalye, other than to sell pricey sketches. See my comments from last year.
Seriously, every nook and cranny of the building was being used for something. A whole bunch of local booksellers were crowded in the lobby, just outside the entrance to the main hall, next to the food vendors. I felt pretty bad for them.
Then there was a makeshift studio set up for attendees to pose as if they're characters on a comic book cover. Apparently there was some contest organized between the convention and the photo studio. Not sure about the point of that either.
They skimped on printing an event guidebook this year, or I didn't receive one. I did notice that they were handing out an official tote bag, free to the first one hundred attendees. 100 PHP for everyone else. No way was I paying for that.
The one thing I regret not buying was the Kate Beaton book. What can I say? Poverty sucks.
On to the photos. I saw the usual mixture of familiar faces and ambitious newcomers hawking their minis and graphic novels. I was unable to label the exhibitors for this year. But if you're one of the people pictured below, drop me a line and I'll identify you in this post.
